Federal Judge Stops Obama Administration's Overtime Pay Rule

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant has sided with plaintiffs in the case who complained that the new overtime rules would have caused an uptick in government costs in their states and made it mandatory for businesses to pay millions in additional salaries. Business groups said the new rule changes would have eventually led to layoffs.

Yet did the complaints argue the facts of the law - or simply that it would cost business owners more money, while rightly reimbursing workers for overtime hours?

The measure, set to take effect Dec. 1, was intended to send a jolt to slow-growing U.S. incomes. The Labor Department's wide ranging overhaul to the overtime rule required employers to pay time-and-a-half to their employees who worked more than 40 hours in a given week and earned less than $47,476 a year.

Supporters of the rule called it "long overdue" as inflation took its toll on overtime protection.

A great many professional caregivers may have benefit from the rule, affecting the “manager” or even “part time” status of some which often required working overtime for no additional pay.

Some business groups who were plaintiffs in the case said the new rule changes would have eventually led to layoffs.

"We strongly disagree with the decision by the court, which has the effect of delaying a fair day's pay for a long day's work for millions of hardworking Americans. The department's overtime rule is the result of a comprehensive, inclusive rulemaking process, and we remain confident in the legality of all aspects of the rule. We are currently considering all of our legal options."

Please return to this website in the coming days for updates on this important subject.

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant rules to block benefit to millions of workers!

How will the new FLSA laws affect the cost of Assisted Living and Senior Care Homes?

According to the official government website for the act, it will have an impact.

“Hospitals and other institutions “primarily engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, or the mentally ill” are covered employers under the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act). Special rules (8 and 80 Overtime System) apply to the payment of overtime to employees of hospitals and residential care establishments, such as nursing facilities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, and intermediate care facilities for individuals with disabilities.” – United States Department of Labor, DOL website - italics ours

The overtime laws are sometimes referred to by employers and the DOL as - The “Eight and Eighty” (8 and 80) Overtime System. According to the government, many Assisted Living facilities will need to be certain to heed the updated law if they were not in the past, or face penalties.

The reality is many Assisted Living facilities will be paying more overtime to comply with the updated law. Others will try to increase staff working less than full time/overtime to try to keep costs down. Many times this can result in greater turn over of employees, thus another source of increased cost, as it can be expensive to train and integrate a new employee.

In the end, the monthly and yearly cost of Assisted Living and Senior Care Home living may very well go up. How much remains to be seen.

If you are concerned about this for existing seniors, or if you are starting to search for Senior Home living, the best thing you can do is use a source like Senior Home Search to find the homes and facilities operating in your area and to contact them directly to ask for information.

Senior Home Search is one of the leading Senior Home and Assisted Living websites that give you Direct Contact Information – not an “800” number to a sales person. Using this website you can get information such as:

Direct contact Phone Numbers to the homes.

Contact and Information forms that are delivered directly to the home owners.

Email addresses of the homes you see

Detailed information about the home including number of beds, services provided and amenities.

Photos of the home and its rooms

Maps and Directions directly to each home

These are just a few of the reasons why you should be using Senior Home Search to find how the new labor laws will affect the cost of Assisted Living near you.

For Assisted Living and Senior Care Home operators, a good source of information is at the U.S. Department of Labor website. One page provides an FLSA Overtime Calculator Advisor section.

PAL Caregivers is a unique website designed for both Family and Professional Caregivers

Unlike other websites that focus on one type of caregiving, we believe that a site devoted to both Professional and Family caregivers allows each a chance to see what is important to the other. This leads to better understanding and overall better care for the ones we are charged with helping.

Having been on both sides of the fence so to speak, gives our team a unique look at the problems and challenges facing both family and professional caregivers.

It is our desire to provide helpful information, support and understanding to our members. We will be pulling together in one place information which we believe you will find useful. And welcome your input as we move along.

Here are some of the things to look forward to:

Information and resources for both Professional and Family caregivers.

News relating to caregiving and elder issues.

Forums for caregivers to share ideas and concerns about assisting family and clients.

Regular updates to our blogger pages.

Please join us as we travel this journey together, laughing, crying and sharing along the way. We welcome you as a member of our caregiving family! -k2

I am hoping by this blog to share with all of you the experiences, joys, trials, and triumphs I have had as both a family and professional caregiver.

As far back as my late teens ( won’t say just how FAR back that was ) I have been helping and caring for seniors in one form or another. My spirit has always been drawn to others, I feel a strong desire to help people. That is what makes caregiving so rewarding for me.

I think my first experience with caregiving was when my then to be mother in law was seriously ill. I remember caring for her so my father in law could go to work. I was 18 at the time. I knew so little about caregiving then, but one thing I did know is that the suffering of others hurt me deeply and fed my desire to help make things better for them in whatever way I could. That desire is even stronger today, as I have seen what an impact my efforts can have on others. There is no greater feeling in the world, than knowing you helped another human being in a deep and meaningful way.

Now many years later I still find great joy in helping others cope with aging, failing health or just life in general. We need each other and being needed is an essential part of what it is to be human.

If you are new to caregiving I applaud you for the steps you are taking to join us on this journey. If you have been on the journey for a long time as I have, I applaud you for your dedication and courage to go the extra mile to help others. It isn’t an easy road to travel, but it is a journey worth making in my opinion.

As a professional Caregiver – PAL, you should be aware of what the minimum wage laws are and how they apply to you. This is true whether you work as an independent or as an employee of an agency.

The Federal minimum wage in general is currently $7.25 per hour:

Minimum Wage - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor. The federal minimum wage provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws. - U.S. Department of Labor

Embarking on a new career is very exciting. Becoming a PAL (Personal Assistant for Living) or caregiver is a wonderful career path to chose. Not only will you be in great demand, you will also reap the rich rewards that come from truly helping others in a very personal and up front way. If you use the tools we present and develop a strong base you will find yourself looking forward to work each day as new and very real experiences await you. Interacting with people brings great joy, laughter, and the human experience up close and personal.

Why "PAL Caregivers?"

PAL stands for Personal Assistant for Living.

PAL Caregivers.com is your one-stop web site that brings together and analyzes information and news about the Caregiving Community. Both Family and Professional caregivers will benefit from the wealth of information available here. Our goal here at PAL Caregivers is to help caregivers navigate the ever changing, challenging journey we are all on. Together we can inform, support and grow as a community.

Along with information and news we will aim to shine the spotlight on two major topics we feel very strongly about.

First is the topic of how a person can develop a rewarding career as a Professional Independent Caregiver. What it takes to become one and the steps to make yourself successful.

Second is a topic we will explore in depth. Adult Family Care Homes also called Adult Foster Care Homes for the aged or AFCH for short. These homes are hidden gems in the world of assisted living and are a wonderful alternative to nursing homes. We want to give great attention to these homes, what they are, how they are run and why a family should chose one for their loved ones (as our family did). We are developing for this website a “Home Finder” to give people easy access to great information on these gems.

In addition there is Ruth Ann Millers blog page and Forums where caregivers can discuss caregiving and ask questions. The sharing of ideas is a key to success and survival.

The PAL Caregiving website is updated daily and can be used as a reliable source for news, information and support. Please feel free to come here often. And as always we welcome your comments and suggestions as no one knows it all. k2